Ribbon-moistening device



H. Nl. HUDGE.

FHBBON MOISTENING DEVICE.

Mmlm'fmm HLED APR. 8, 1920.

ygtgpp Patented Jam, 259 192i,

.UNITED STATES applicati@ ined April s,

l The objectof my invention is to. provide a moistener which'will always provide a suitable atmosphere for a typewriter tape or ribbon so that the same will never dry when .in use. lSuch ribbons are hydroscoplc andas a rule do not wear -out but dry out fkeeping the ribbon always in` as uitable con.- dition for'use 'and preventing it from drythrough a lossl ofymoisture. By the use of my inventio'mit is possible to greatly pro` long the, llife 4.and usefulness Vof ay ribbon for 'typewriters jand similar instruments by ing. out and supplyingit with any moisture which'may beneces'sary to ma-ke up the loss nincidental to its .exp-osurein the machine.

`This and other yobjects are accomplished by my invention,.oneembodiment of which is hereinafter more particularly set forth.

For a more exact description of my inven- Ytionre erence is to `be had to the accompanying drawings,l forming a part hereof,

' in ywhlch- Figure 1,y is a sectional view of a type- ,.-writer spool and spool casing with m moistening device attached thereto.

Fig.- 2 is a plan View of the structure shown in Fig. 1,' parts being broken away to more clearly show the structure.

Fig. 3, is a side elevation of a typewriter ribbon casing embodying my invention;

Through the various views of the drawings, similar reference characters designate similar parts.

An ordinary typewriter ribbon'l may be mounted on its spool 2 which is connected to a spintlle 3 of the ribbon mechanism in the conventional manner. This ribbon is surrounded by the usual casing 4 which is usually secured to the frame of the typewriter in a manner which is well understood. Ordinarily it is common to provide some sort of cap or cover for such casings 4 with perforations through vwhich the ribbon may be viewed so that its condition may be determined from time to time and the operator l will know when a shift will occur `from one "vend of the vribbon to another. In the prei erred embodiment of my invention, lthe PATENT OFFICE.

6F NW'YioRx, N. Y.

mBBoN-MoIsTENING DEvIeE. f

l -Specication of Letters Patent. :PatentedA Jan. 25, 192]- m2o. serial'No. 372,112.

mersed in liquid and graduallypermit the same to Idepart through the perforations in the party 8 of the bottom 7 ,l

Assuming the parts to be as shown and de scribed the operation ofmy device will be readily understood. When the ribbon is yinsertedl the cap 5is olf Van'd'befre it is rei stored it is immersed in water or treated in any other suitable manner so as to nioisten the pad 10 and then `the cap 5 is put in place on the 'casing 4; The hydroscopic characteristics of the ribbon 1 causes it to absorb just what moisture it needs and ,neither more or 1ess,,from the top sc that as long as the pad remains moist the lribbon will be in a suitable condition for use. When the ribbon shows a tendency to dry out, the cap is Aremoved and the pad moistened as above set4 forth, and then the cap is restored and the ribbon will soon regain its proper condition. The closedcap 5 has openings into the interior of the casing 4 and not otherwise so that the interior of the chamber is at all times protected from dust and thislchamber and is not allowed to become dissipated from outside atmospheric conditions.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention. it is obvious that it `is not restricted thereto, but that it is broad enough to cover all structures that come within the scope of the annexed claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim-ist Ar device. of the class described comprising means for inclosing a spool with a typewriterl ribbon thereon and means closed except atl a part adjacent to an edge of the ribbon, holding-a moistening means, so that the edge of such ribbon is submitted to a moist atmosphere, whereby the ribbon will always be in a roper condition for use.

ICHARD M. HODGE. 

